Kunoichi: Book 1: The Escapees
by The Cloud Kingdom
Summary: AU. A former assassin finds herself teamed up with the ninja, at odds with her old clan... and her best friend. Jaya, Garsako, Zane/OC, Cole/OC
1. The Purple Assassin

**A/N:** Hi guys! This was originally a roleplay the two of us did that turned out way better than we expected. I understand if a lot of people run away screaming from just the premise (NEW NINJAS!one!), but along with some silliness has come a great deal of interesting story arcs, flawed characters, and world building in what has become quite the epic. I encourage people to give this a chance if they don't mind a bit of our wish fulfillment and meta humor. We hope you enjoy!

This story branches off from the end of season 2 of the series… almost. We might have tinkered with Jay and Nya's relationship a little… hehehe…

* * *

 **Kunoichi**  
 _ **Book 1: The Escapees**_

 **The Purple Assassin**

Far from the metropolis of New Ninjago City, high in the most treacherous mountains, there lies a clan that takes pride in its highly trained assassins. Isolated from most of the world, these ninja use their lethal skillsets to take down threats to their community, be they inside or outside their walls.

No intruder can enter the clan's walls and live to tell the tale.

Likewise, no member of the clan can leave without suffering dire consequences...

* * *

"Focus."

Ali had been focusing. For _months_ now. Every morning, she'd perform equal parts regular training and spinning in circles until she felt sick, feeling the watchful eyes of her more experienced teammates looming over her. "Right, I can do this…" she said, as much for herself as for Sensei Wu.

She tried to shake off some of the dizziness, dusting off her purple uniform before giving it another go. With an extra push, she managed to successfully use spinjitzu…. for a moment. After a brief flash of purple light, she crashed into a pile of training dummies.

"Nicely done," Wu said with a smile.

"Yaaaaay…" She was too dizzy to stand up. Zane walked over to Ali and offered his hand. This only served to make her face burn, not that the ice ninja noticed in the slightest. "Guess that extra time I put in paid off," she said, accepting Zane's help and brushing herself off.

"Indeed," Wu said, "but this is only the beginning. From here on, your training will be much more challenging so that you can be up to the level of your peers."

"Yeah… kinda figured…"

"And don't think we'll be taking it easy on you either!" Jay chimed in. Lloyd nodded silently, sympathetic to the grueling task of playing catch-up.

"Don't worry about me," Ali insisted. "You found out I could put up a good fight the day we met."

* * *

"Hello, stranger! Welcome to New Ninjago City! Or at least that's what we're hoping to call it."

 _Great._ The hooded figure the construction worker was addressing had no interest in talking to him. She wanted to pass through Ninjago's metropolis as quietly as possible. After that… well, she wasn't entirely sure, but she'd think of something. Remembering the famous ninja might also be around, she pulled her hood further over her face and kept walking.

"You know where you're headed? It's rare to see someone walk into down all on their lonesome."

"…just travelling…" the hooded figure finally replied.

It was hard to blame the construction worker for his suspicious look; stories of the recent battle with the Overlord had even reached the clans. As Ninjago City became New Ninjago City, there were many concerns about another threat lurking just around the corner, putting everyone on edge. "…Alright then," the construction worker said after giving her a once over. "Watch your step. Lots of construction going on since the Gold Ninja took down the Overlord."

"Yeah…" she tugged at her hood again, "sure…"

Finally out from under the construction worker's tense gaze, the Ali of several months ago sighed and quickened her pace through New Ninjago City. Just as she was starting to think she'd be in the clear if she stuck to the back roads, she felt a familiar sensation; one she'd been carefully trained to be aware of.

Ali was being followed.


	2. Dark Energy

**Dark Energy**

"Am I the only one who's bored?"

Kai looked around at New Ninjago City, suppressing a yawn. Peacetime had a way of making the red ninja restless, and the team's new jobs as teachers left a lot to be desired. "At least construction is coming along nicely." He didn't want to say he'd _like_ if some bad guys showed up and tried to sabotage the construction workers' shiny new buildings, but…

He didn't have to say it. "There is a time for action and a time for rest," Sensei Wu scolded. "Appreciate this peacetime while you can."

"Yeah Kai, loosen up a little!" Jay said, by far the perkiest of the group. "Get a hobby, or a _wife_ or something." Jay's smug face (as if Kai would somehow forget Jay had gotten married) didn't help Kai's mood.

"You know, I could still knock a tooth out of that stupid grin."

This didn't deter Jay in the slightest. "I could introduce you to my poetry workshop."

"Hey guys," Cole interjected, "look over there." Cole pointed to a hooded figure talking with one of the construction workers. The figure quickly went on her way deeper into town.

"Eesh," Jay said, "black in this heat? I'm sweating enough in my gi."

"Something's off…" Cole watched the figure move further into the city, hiding their face from several civilians. "I think we should find out who that is and make sure it's no one dangerous."

Jay laughed. "Really? Look, I know it's been a while, and we're all a bit desperate for a fight, but-"

"No, Cole has a point." _Darkness._ Sensei Wu could sense dark energy anywhere. He cautiously flagged down the hooded figure. "Excuse me."

Ali jumped, startled at being called out to while her mind was elsewhere, and turned her attention to the man with the long white beard.

" Welcome to Ninjago City," the bearded man said. _Ugh._ More people trying to be friendly and slowing her down was the last thing she needed right now. "You seem to have come a long way in rather warm clothes - perhaps you would like some water?" He offered a canteen to her.

"I'm fine," Ali responded curtly. She had to keep moving. "I'm just… passing through."

"Where are you heading?"

" _Away._ Far away."

"Well then, if you have a long journey ahead of you, all the more reason to make sure you are properly prepared. You may join us for lunch."

Was that an offer or an order? It was hard to tell from the man's tone, and it only made Ali tenser. "I'd rather keep moving…"

"I see... Safe travels to you then."

Why was Wu looking at Ali with such distrust? He wasn't completely sure himself; he just felt very strongly that letting this girl keep wandering would be a dangerous mistake. Apparently his suspicion was obvious, because she pulled her hood further over her head and walked away without another word.

Likewise, Sensei Wu walked back over to the team as if nothing had happened. "Sensei?" Zane questioned.

"Follow her," Wu whispered. "She is overflowing with dark energy _._ " _And… something else? Something_ else about her has taken Wu off guard. Something similar to when he'd first met each of his students. The ninja nodded at Wu's order and followed the hooded figure at a distance.

* * *

Blocks later, the ninja were just starting to question if this was really necessary when Ali bolted between two half-constructed buildings.

 _Crap, crap, crap…!_ She didn't want a fight, but it was starting to look like the only option as the ninja chased her down the alleyway. She skidded to a halt at a dead end. "Ugh, you gotta be kidding…"

"Forgive our rudeness," one of the ninja – the white one – called over to her, "however, we must ask your inten-"

Ali didn't wait for him to finish. She pulled a knife from her cloak and threw it. She never saw where it landed; the green ninja, angered by her outburst, had immediately charged at her and flung her into the wall with spinjitzu.

"Don't attack my friends!"

"Hey, guys, take it easy," Cole said, "we're not looking for a fight!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have followed me!" Ali retorted.

Cole's attempts to calm the situation were fruitless. Lloyd and Ali both charged at each other in anger.

" **That's enough!** "

Sensei Wu yelled to them as he caught up, stopping the fight before it could get ugly. Cole let out a sigh of relief. _Oh, sure Lloyd; listen to_ him _. It's not like I'm the leader or anything._ Ali didn't drop her fighting stance.

"Sensei, she-"

Wu stepped in front of Lloyd, holding his bo staff with both hands.

Lloyd stepped back, partly out of respect but also partly out of shock. It was odd enough for Sensei Wu to fight himself, but to fight when the others were still perfectly capable of handling the situation? The team exchanged confused looks; something more was going on here.

"Everyone, leave this to me."


	3. Inklings of Fate

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Thanks for your lovely reviews so far! It always makes our day to get one.

We've gotten offers to include OCs too! But... it's probably not going to happen. This story has mostly been written out in advance, so there's nowhere to really put any new characters we didn't already have planned. Still, we appreciate you guys being willing to trust us with your characters!

Short chapter, but it felt like a natural spot to cut. Next chapter soon!

* * *

 **Inkings of Fate**

As Sensei Wu stared Ali down, she knew she didn't have much time to get the heck out of Dodge. It was a hot day, and the dark cloak she hid herself in was starting to get to her. In a mix of irritation and urgency, Ali didn't hesitate to attack.

The experienced sensei restrained her in less than two seconds.

"That's enough," Wu said, ignoring Ali's feeble struggling in his hold. "We have no intention of harming you. However, I do not suspect that you can blame us for being suspicious when someone with dark energy randomly enters New Ninjago City so soon after the Overlord's defeat."

Ali stopped struggling for a moment and blinked. "Dark energy? What are you talking about?" This caused Wu to blink as well. _Does she really not know...?_

"Oh please," Lloyd started to say, "like you can't-"

"Hush, nephew." It was strange. Even if this girl was telling the truth and was completely innocent, for some reason, Wu didn't feel comfortable just letting her wander off.

He sensed... something. Something beyond the dark energy. Something... he was supposed to be around Ali to observe. But how was he supposed to explain that to the girl who has resumed feebly struggling?

"Let me go!" Ali shouted, and Wu did so. What else could he do? "I sense that you are supposed to stay here," was hardly a valid excuse to detain someone against their will.

"If you wish to leave, that is your choice, however, I sense that... you are not as sure of your destination as you would like to seem." Ali fell silent, and Wu didn't wait for her to think of a retort, "I think it would be best for you to get rest when it is offered, young nomad. And, perhaps, we could hear your story over a cup of tea."

"Wait, what?" Jay whispered to the others, who were just as lost by the sudden turn of the conversation.

Ali sighed. "Fine..."

"Well then," Wu said, smiling, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, "let us all return home for the day."

"So," Kai spoke up first, realizing none of the others were about to, "she just _attacked_ us, and now we're inviting her to come home with us?" Wu only nodded in response. "But that's-"

"Although, we did kind of gang up on her to begin with," Zane commented, although he sounded a bit uneasy as well.

"I still don't get why we are even talking to crazy hood lady in the first place," Jay chimed in.

Lloyd watched Wu and Ali go ahead, crossing his arms. He knew dark energy when he felt it - his intense battle with the Overlord made certain he'd never forget how it felt to be light and feel complete darkness closing in around you. But Uncle had his reasons, not to mention... "I don't know... but you guys didn't get why I was here at first either, right?" He was the first to follow after Wu.

"Well, whatever the reason," Cole said as the rest of the team followed their charge, "I'm guessing we'll find out."


	4. Dragonwell

**Dragonwell**

One trip back to Sensei Wu's Academy later, the new headmaster was keeping his word about tea and story time... whether Ali was interested or not.

The rest of the team, despite protesting, was shoo'd off to perform their teaching duties; now that Wu had a grasp on his ability to handle Ali in a fight, he figured she might be more comfortable opening up without several suspicious young men staring her down.

He could tell that the ninja has instead opted to listen in from the other side of the door, but since Ali didn't seem to notice he decided to deal with them later.

A plate with a mix of sweet manjuu and savory dim sum sat in the middle of a small table. Ali stared at it incredulously while Wu poured generous portions of dragonwell tea into both of their cups, which Ali also stared at without partaking. At the least, Ali now felt comfortable enough to let her hood down.

"So tell me," Wu said after he had sat back down across from her, lifting his teacup to his lips, "where are you running from?"

"I..." Ali watched Wu take a sip of his tea before finally picking up her own cup, "came here from the mountains. Not many people know about the settlement hidden there."

"I've heard rumors, but that is all," he took a sip of his tea. "Are you an outlaw there?"

Wu's voice held no notes of judgment as he asked this. He sounded more like an executive performing a job interview than a ninja interrogating a potential threat.

"No! Well... I might be hunted once they notice I'm gone."

He took another sip. "Oh?"

"Most of us in the clan are trained to fight once we're old enough to walk, and... every so often, a few are chosen to be trained as assassins. I don't want to be responsible for killing someone, but it's not my choice to make, so..."

"I see. What do you plan to do now?"

"They'll come looking for me... I just need to keep moving."

"That doesn't sound like a plan with any end except death." Despite the dark turn of the discussion, Wu's voice remained collected, but a bit friendlier than before. Like two acquaintances planning a weekend get-together.

Ali's tone, on the other hand, was becoming more and more hopeless. "It's the only option I have..."

"It's the only option you have _considered_."

"...What are you saying?"

"What _is_ he saying?" Jay whispered to the others outside the door. If Wu noticed the growing commotion from his oh-so-sneaky students he totally knew were there, he didn't acknowledge it.

"This is not just a ninja headquarters, but also a school. A school badly in need of more faculty, in fact." Wu took one last sip of his tea and put the empty cup down. "I believe it would be best for you to stay here - you would also have to train with my students, but you would have a roof over your head and allies to protect you."

And the door to Wu's office shot open.

"Woah woah woah!" Jay shouted, first to fumble into the room. "Wait, wasn't anyone gonna ask _us_ about this?!"

"Jay's right," Kai said, "is this really a good idea?"

With that, all five of the ninja broke out into a cacophony of questions and protests. None of this surprised Wu in the slightest, but he was still irritated. "Was eavesdropping when I specifically asked you to work on next week's lesson plans until I came out 'really a good idea?'"

"And we're sorry for not listening to you," Cole said, "but the 'trained assassin' part isn't setting any alarms off?"

"Under normal circumstances," Wu explained, "I would agree. However…" He looked towards the floor, his hat covering his expression from his pupils' view, "something else is setting off more 'alarms' for me." He looked over at Ali, making sure she knew he hadn't forgotten she was right there. "I also sense a similar potential to what I felt in the five of you."

"Sensei," Zane said, "you don't mean…?"

"I do. I believe this girl is capable of learning spinjitzu."

Wu's response hung in the air for a little bit before every ninja in the room responded in unison.

"… _What._ "


	5. What

**What.**

Sensei didn't seem surprised by the rather unenthusiastic response from his students (and Ali, for that matter.) Zane seemed to be the only one among them even open to discussing the issue. "Sensei, the Overlord is no more. What purpose would there be for another spinjitzu master?"

"That is one of many questions I no doubt share with all of you, Zane."

"Yeah, uh, I'm not sure 'many questions' begins to cover the reaction here!" Jay shoved sprouted up from the group, standing face to face with Wu looking and totally stressed out. "I mean, Sensei, this is a bit sudden, don't you think?"

"I have to agree with Jay, Sensei," Cole said. "I mean, even if we could trust her, we're a solid team as we are. We've fought the _Overlord_ together and made it back in one piece. Adding someone new would mean we'd have to learn to work together all over again."

"He's got a point." Kai said. "I mean, I _just_ finally started to not want to punch Jay in the face all the time."

"Hey!"

"It just… seems like a lot of trouble for someone we don't even know if we can trust."

Wu had kept his eyes closed as the surge of complaints washed over him. He finally opened them and looked to Cole. "You're right to be concerned for your team, Cole, but I am not asking you to trust Ali."

"You're not?" Jay asked. "That's what it sounded like over here."

"I'm asking you – all of you – to trust _me_. I'm asking you to trust my connection to spinjitzu and my senses."

"Uh…" Attention turned to Ali as she spoke up for the first time during the argument. "I… never really agreed to stay here either."

Wu looked between his students and his potential new student stroking his beard. Admittedly, he was having a hard time swallowing all of this as well; what he sensed didn't always match up with his _common_ sense. No doubt his brother would have also raised concerns about a trained assassin living with his son and company if he wasn't back at his own dojo. "…How about this then?" Wu picked up his staff he'd left leaning against the wall and pointed at Ali.

"One week."

"You will agree to stay here for one week and train under the tutelage of myself and my students. At the same time," he turned and pointed at the others, "the five of you shall act as gracious hosts. I shall spend this time in meditation on the matter. At the end of a week's time, anyone who wishes to air grievances can and a plan for the long-term will be assembled."

This seemed to appease everyone as much as anything would, but even as Wu suggested the plan, he knew things probably wouldn't go that smoothly. From his experience, whatever fate had in store would never follow any mere mortal's schedule. More likely, this was only the beginning to the start of a new adventure for him and his students.

But, Zane did have a point: Without the Overlord to worry about, Wu had no idea what the next threat to Ninjago would be… or how to prepare for it.


	6. One Week

**One Week**

 **Monday**

"Okay! Lesson one of being a spinjitzu master…" Jay said, slowly pacing a circle around Ali, who sat seiza in the center of the tatami mat unarmed and wishing for the sleep she couldn't manage to get the night before. "The first difference between being one of us and being an assassin from a remote clan is that you _don't_ try to kill everyone you meet."

"We don't-"

"Practice time! Try not to kill me for… ten seconds."

Ten seconds passed. Jay finished another circle around Ali, who just stared up at him flatly.

"Great! My work here is done!"

Jay bolted from the room, returning to the doorframe as Ali stood and let the blood return to her empty legs. He pointed two fingers at his eyes, pointed them at Ali, and was gone again. She barely saw him again until they all communed the week after.

* * *

 **Tuesday**

Kai wasn't sure what he was supposed to be teaching Ali when Sensei Wu told them to each host a lesson for her while he meditated. She'd been trained fairly well in all the basics, and spinjitzu… well, aside from Kai not being completely sold on Ali being able to learn it in the first place, he had no idea how to explain how spinjitzu worked. The old training gauntlet Wu had made him suffer against when he'd learn spinjitzu was long gone, lost in the fire at the ninja's first home.

He finally resorted to filling the awkward, empty training time with light sparring and small talk.

"So… what's dark power like?" Kai asked as he blocked one of Ali's punches with his palm.

"I don't know." She threw another weak punch. _She's got to be holding back_ , Kai thought.

"You know, you don't have to go easy on me. We could have you go up against a dummy if that'd work better for you."

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine. Sorry."

 _How could such a space case get picked to be an assassin in a remote clan, anyway?_ Kai wasn't sure how much of his sentence Ali had heard and he didn't bother repeating himself.

"…Look, if you're trying to think up a plan to take us down, you can think again. Sensei Wu may want us to trust you, but the best I can do is not take you down until you give me a reason to."

The next time Ali punched his palm, Kai used the momentum to flip her onto her back in front of him. It seemed to be the only way to get her attention, he told himself.

" _Don't_ give me a reason to. Got it?"

"Whatever…"

The bell signaling an hour's passing boomed through the halls of the academy and Kai made a mental note to tell whoever was stuck with her next that something was bothering her (guilt, he figured) and left Ali where he'd dropped her. She remained there for a while, staring at the ceiling listlessly.

* * *

 **Wednesday**

Ali looked at Nya confused as they entered the dining room, hardly a place to train. "What are you going to test me on in here?"

"Nothing. I trust Sensei, and it's nice to have another girl around to talk to. Want some cookies I made yesterday?"

"…Sure." Ali smiled weakly and looked around the room. The room had a square table with seven chairs around it. Despite there being plenty of room for more, the chairs were all snuggled together at one end. The paper walls had stains hinting at food fights past.

This messy, rambunctious… _warm_ place was part of a dojo?

"Besides, if you _did_ try to hurt me, Jay would be in here before I could even think punch you in the face myself. My brother would race him here, too."

Ali hadn't seen Jay since Monday, but she could feel his presence stare burning into the back of her head. Nya looked in the direction Ali felt the glare from and smile. When Ali turned around, nobody was there, but she still felt like she was two missteps from getting caught in a blue tornado of rage.

"…You and Jay are…?"

"Oh, uh, he's my husband," Nya replied, pulling a foil-covered plate of cookies from the fridge and smiling privately. "It still feels so weird to say that." She sat the plate down on the table and fiddled with the ring on her finger, still not entirely used to its presence.

"Ah."

The conversation lulled, and seeing how uncomfortable Ali seemed as she looked around at the room she found peculiar made Nya want to fill the space that currently only held the light _crunch_ sound of shortbread being broken. "So, how are they? I haven't cooked much since Kai and I joined the team."

"They're good. Thanks."

Nya smiled, satisfied with that. She figured she'd bothered the new girl enough for one day and left the room with a wave goodbye. Ali could hear her scolding Jay for being so overprotective in the hallway outside.

* * *

 **Thursday**

Cole was supposed to be good at things like this. He was, after all, the team's leader. His job was to understand the needs and distinct personalities of his group and work with them to complete the mission.

But so far, as he observed Ali run some laps he'd ordered her to, he had nothing. Well, nothing aside from the head-in-the-clouds thing Kai had already mentioned.

It wasn't that Ali was doing _poorly_ in the exercises by any means; she was giving 100%. It just… felt like she could be giving more than that somehow. Like she was just phoning in the bare minimum to get by.

Like she didn't want to be here, which wouldn't have surprised Cole. Nobody else, sans Wu, really wanted her here either. He realized he _wanted_ Ali to mess up and reveal some sort of dastardly intent. He would have _preferred_ to deal with someone evil than someone ambiguous, because when someone was evil, he could make a game plan for how to take them down. When there was a factor he didn't understand, planning became a lot more complicated.

 _Five days,_ he told himself as Ali continued to run laps and stare at her feet. After all, if Ali wanted out of here as much as she seemed to, that was when she'd be gone and Cole's world would go back to being a bit easier to calculate.

* * *

 **Friday**

"I am not surprised you came looking for me."

Ali jumped several inches to the air at Wu's comment. A moment ago, he'd seemed to be in his own little world, meditating in his quarters with a steaming cup of tea by his side, but somehow he knew she had entered in what she'd thought was total silence.

Nobody had been assigned to train Ali that day, so she'd decided to explore the school (and dojo) grounds. Jay had apparently gone somewhere with Nya, because she hadn't run into the friendly girl or felt the glare of the paranoid boy all day. Kai was grumbling in the teacher's lounge about some lesson plan he didn't like, and she had no plans to disturb who seemed like the most intimidating member of the group. She'd caught a glimpse of Cole in the training room lifting an insane amount of weights _and_ the weight racks – she considered watching but with how serious the ninja of earth seemed she worried he'd try to make her attempt a similar feat. "I wasn't _looking_ for you."

"Perhaps, but you were looking for _someone_ , right? Some sign of life in the halls?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Because, under whatever it is inside you're trying to run away from along with your clan, you actually enjoy the company of others."

He opened one eye to look over at a very uncomfortable Ali. "Am I wrong?"

Ali stared him down for a moment, then shrugged and made a sort of "ehhh," noise as she left the room.

Wu smiled and returned to his meditation, a bit agitated that he still had no spiritual answer as to why Ali was here. Perhaps, however, he was starting to figure out a simpler reason she should stick around.

* * *

 **Saturday**

"Oh, shoot, I was supposed to train you today, wasn't I?" Lloyd asked rhetorically as Ali ran into him by the door. The famous – even in the remote clan - golden ninja had a backpack loaded with camping supplies. A fishing pole stuck out of the top of the bag's main compartment. "I'm sorry Ali; my dad and I were going to spend the weekend at the lake together."

Had anybody else flaked out on Ali during the week so far, she would have probably thought they were just trying to get rid of her. However, Lloyd had this sincerity to his voice… this young innocence that made it easy to believe he'd legitimately forgotten about his duties.

"…Uh… you could… come along, if you want…?"

"Nah. I'm good."

A silence hung in the air. Lloyd looked Ali over as he thought about how to put his next words together.

"Well, all I was going to really say today anyway was… Everyone here has something in their past they aren't proud of. Believe me, I know. So even if it feels like nobody is on your side yet, if you really want to be here, they will be eventually.

"Try not to close yourself off from other people so much, even if you don't feel like you deserve to have them around.

"So, yeah, see you on Monday."

Lloyd walked out the door without realizing how clearly he'd cut through Ali with what he'd said. She spent the rest of the day even more closed in on herself than she had before, but much more aware she was at the same time. She tried to imagine what the stories of the others were as she drifted off into a relatively peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **Sunday**

But the next morning, Ali was more torn apart than ever.

Her legs itched. She felt like she had to keep moving. Tomorrow, she'd leave, she told herself. Nobody would blame her. She'd keep running until she was satisfied; until she'd forgotten what having a home – even a really horrible one like the clan – felt like. Until she forgot the few decent people she'd left behind.

…How long would that take…?

She wasn't even sitting properly when today's teacher, Zane, entered the dojo. As always, she found his expression impossible to read. His mouth formed a straight line that was more geometric looking than organic. All of the ninja had fairly chiseled features from training, but Zane's face managed to look both smooth and hard at the same time. She tried to at least moderately focus – this _was_ her last day, after all – and waited for Zane to say something.

He didn't. At least, not for a while. First, he sat down seiza across from her, meeting her at her eye level.

He spoke, calmly, quietly, and almost made Ali fall over with his words.

"How do you feel?"

She looked up sharply. " _What?_ "

"The week is almost over. How do you feel about your situation right now? Are you alright?"

He was serious. He was actually wondering how she felt. He was asking for her opinion instead of heaping his opinion on her. He was looking for her input to seriously consider before moving forward.

He was making it evident that her opinion mattered. That she had a choice.

She couldn't recall the last time anybody had done that.

"…No," she responded, and they spent the next hour talking about how lost she felt. How she'd never left the clan before and she felt misplaced even though she never wanted to go back. How she wished she could have brought a friend with her who was still stuck in that mess. How she felt like she was bothering others by existing here and now. How she couldn't believe she might be part of this group. How she didn't understand why things had gone the way they had. How she wasn't sure who she was now that everything she was used to had been pulled out from under her.

When the hour ended, all Zane did was smile in an understanding way and leave her to think on things.

* * *

When a week had passed, the team found themselves in the awkward position of not having any reason to kick Ali out. The worst anybody had to say about Ali was that she could be kind of quiet and depressed, like her mind was still on a journey far away from there, and that was hardly dangerous. If anything, it made her easier to catch off guard than most assassins they'd met.

Ali found herself in the even _more_ awkward position of actually liking her hosts' company. She wasn't exactly best friends with any of them, but they were an interesting bunch. And like Sensei Wu had said: where else could she go if she left? For the first time, she had a place where she could use her skills for something _good_ instead of learning to be a killing machine for her clan's personal causes. She actually felt safe in her own skin, and even the occasional feeling that she was just running away couldn't overcome that.

But the question on everyone's mind remained long after the decision that Ali would stay and train with the others: _what now?_ Nothing particularly earth-shattering had happened during Ali's trial period. No revealing of new, mysterious powers. No villains with plans of dominating any more than a vegetable cart or two. Not even any students at Sensei Wu's Academy setting the jungle gym on fire (again.) There wasn't any reason to kick Ali out, but there wasn't yet a clear reason for her to stay beyond Wu's spiritual intuition.

It became a waiting game after that. A waiting game that would last months, as Ali started to bond with her new teammates and take her place among them, not realizing just how personal the situation was about to become.

"Don't worry about me," Ali insisted. "You found out I could put up a good fight the day we met."

"Mastering spinjitzu is about more than your combat capabilities," Wu said. "It requires balance. As an assassin, you were no doubt trained to focus single-handedly on bringing down your opponent. However, in this dojo, you will be expected to think much more fully when you fight."

Ali bowed in acknowledgement and prepared to spar with the others, when a loud blaring cut through the training room's tranquil atmosphere.

"The ninja alarm!" Zane said. "Ninjago City needs our help!"

"That's still a dumb name for it," Cole mentioned, "but let's move!"

As the team raced to the still half-rebuilt metropolis, several potential enemies were discussed. Serpentine, pirates, time traveling aliens from another dimension ("Jay, be serious, please." "I am serious! _Weird_ stuff happens in Ninjago all the time and you think I'm kidding?!")

It turned out, to the surprise of the entire team, the ninja had been summoned to deal with… well… ninja. Not even shadow clone ninja or ninja from the Moon. Just… regular, old-fashioned ninja hassling the citizens for information like common thugs.

"Anybody recognize these guys?" Cole asked, mostly expecting an answer from Sensei Wu.

Instead, Ali let out a very uncomfortable, very quiet "yes."

* * *

 **A/N:** And so the flashback ends. This is one of my favorite chapters so far and I hope you guys enjoyed it! Now, we have a little offer for you guys:

We have a lot of chapters done, so for the new two weeks we plan to update Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! **BUT, if we reach 20 total reviews by next Monday, we'll update every single weekday next week.** That's two bonus chapters in return for your guys feedback! We may even add in a Saturday update if we get above that goal of 20. We just love hearing your guys' feedback, so **please review!**


	7. Net

**Net**

"Uh… I need to go… somewhere else…" Ali said as several pairs of eyes – eyes from her clan, adorned in the familiar ninja uniform she had entered town covering with a cloak – dart over to her, forgetting any interrogations and general mayhem they were causing "New" Ninjago's citizens. She stood before their stares, eyes wide, visibly shaking, on the verge of panic.

Her team filled the space between her and the clan members. "Ali," Wu said, readying to fight, "do not forget that as a part of this team, we will defend you as we expect you to defend us."

"I...I can't...they're going to kill me…"

"Maintain your balance!" Wu continued, "Running away on your own will only make the situation more complicated!"

"…"

Ali ran off on her own, making the situation more complicated.

One of the ninja, who had been watching from a nearby rooftop, immediately went after her. Wu noted he'd need to talk to Ali about following orders under pressure as Cole's palm smacked against his face. "Seriously? Zane, follow her. We'll send these ones on their way."

* * *

Ali ran frantically, too nervous to move in the stealthy way she had spent years being trained in. Her footsteps echoed on manholes and splashed through puddles of recent rain until she ran into an alley and sat on the ground behind a trash can, trying to make herself as small as possible. She hugged herself and rocked back and forth, trying to regain control of her racing heart and the fear only making it race faster. She didn't mind the chill that seeped into her basic gi as she sat on the damp ground.

They'd found her. She'd just been starting to think they wouldn't, but her clan had found her, and no doubt they'd make short work of anyone in the way of dealing her the punishment they felt she deserved for going a-wall.

She stood up, still trembling. Should she go back and turn herself in? Would that save them? She needed _some_ sort of plan, but…

" _There_ you are!"

Ali jumped back a good five feet, slamming into the alley's dead end. Dangling upside down from a rope in front of her was one of the clan members – one she could recognize from only the voice and the dark brown eyes peeking through the hood. One that she couldn't bring herself to just run away from even if she _wasn't_ currently jumping to the ground and blocking the only exit.

The old friend waved at Ali with a genuine smile in her eyes. "I was worried about you, running off like that!"

"Yeah, well," that said, Ali knew she hadn't been sent to have a friendly chat, "I have my reasons."

"For running off like an idiot with next to no money and nowhere to go?"

"And no set destination."

" _Exactly!_ What the heck bro?"

"I didn't want any part in assassin training!"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to kill anyone!"

"…Why not?" She asked like it was the most natural question in the world. "Ali, you _know_ this world is messed up, and outsiders are just messing it up even worse." Her smile faded. "What do you think is going to happen to this world if we _don't_ clean up their mess?"

"Look, I've been spending time with outsiders and I travelled a long way...I've seen some pretty great things...ever stop to think we might be wrong?"

She shrugged. "Not really, no. Yeah, there are some "nice things" or whatever, but let me remind you of all the bad things." She pulled one hand out from behind her back and began counting on her fingers. Ali wondered what the other hand was hiding from her. "War, famine, disease, selfish people, people in general... Well, present company not counted on the last one."

"There are good people... I've seen it, and a lot of people work to make the world a better place... the people of this city are rebuilding and making it better than it was… it's _amazing_ out here."

The girl facepalmed with more flair than necessary. "You either don't get what I'm saying or are ignoring it… Look dude, I don't want to fight you…"

She revealed her other hand from behind her back, spinning the bo staff it was holding a few times before entering a battle stance. Ali wasn't the least bit surprised by her "surprise" weaponry.

"…But either _I_ fight you, or someone else finds you and _kills_ you, and I'm not gonna let that happen."


	8. My Best Friend

**My Best Friend**

 _"Stop!"_

Ali immediately recognized the voice cutting through the impending fight. "Zane!" The ninja of ice ran into the alleyway, getting between Ali and her opponent, whose raised eyebrow was clear through the hole in her mask.

"Your allies have already retreated! Leave at once!"

Her fighting stance faltered slightly as she blinked rapidly. She looked at Zane, then looked at Ali, who was notably redder than she had been moments before. "…You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"Zane, it's okay… she's my best friend…" At least, Ali hoped she still had a best friend after the whole disappearing stunt she'd pulled.

"What?" Zane's attention turned to Ali's friend, who simply glared at him.

"Yeah, _I'm_ her best friend." Her grip tightened on her staff and her stance became more stable. "Who are _you_ exactly?" Of course she knew who this was to an extent. Even in the clan's remote location, news of a team of brightly-colored ninja trickled in from time to time.

"Whoever you are according to my comrade, you're my enemy if you attack her."

"…'Comrade.' You…" She gave Ali her full attention, either really confident Zane wouldn't attack her while she was distracted or greatly underestimating his ability to defeat her if they did engage in combat. "You _joined_ the ninjas? Seriously?!"

Ali shrank slightly. "Well, it was a serious situation... no where to really go... they offered... so I chose a roof over my head... and a career in teaching…"

"Nonono, I _know_ why you joined them. Noble dweebs like that," she pointed her bo at Zane, which might have started an inadvertent fight with a less patient ninja, "are _so_ your type."

Zane looked at Ali, confused and not seeming to notice her cheeks burn even redder than they had when he'd shown up. She stammered violently. "That is _not_ the reason!"

"Uh huh. Yeah. Look, like Prince Charming said, everyone's leaving, and obviously I'm not gonna talk any sense into you today. Later Ali!" She leaped and flipped out of the alleyway, beaming at Ali as she went. However, as soon as she lost sight of her friend, her expression grew dark for the rest of the journey back.

" **Net, wait!** "

No response.

"That was... truly a friend of your's...?" Zane asked.

"Yeah...before I left...I think our status is different now."

"...Well... I know that friends can't be easily replaced," Zane smiled, "but I'd hope we could be friends."

Ali smiled weakly back. "I'd hope we already are."

As Ali and Zane smiled at one another, the others caught up after completing their own battle with the clansmen. Ali's eyes widened. Zane hadn't just been saying that to catch Net off guard… they'd really beaten her pursuers, and they didn't even look that worse for wear over it. Lloyd, Kai, Jay, and Cole were having a lively discussion. Wu, on the other hand, looked at Ali with irritation.

"Ali," he said, in his trademark "you will be getting extra training tomorrow" voice, "trusting your allies in times of stress is an important team skill. I trust you will be open to developing such skill."

"…Yes, Sensei."

Even if she had been dumb enough to argue about it, she wasn't up to it. She'd been hoping that if she ever saw Net again after running away, it would have gone better than it had.


	9. Photocopies

**A/N:** So, our little review bonus event happened, and... we didn't get _any_ new reviews over the span of three chapters, much less reach our goal of 20.

We don't like begging for reviews, and we definitely don't plan to hold new chapters for ransom. But guys, your reviews mean a lot to both of us. We read every single one, and admittedly, not receiving any feedback whatsoever makes it hard to want to keep writing this when we also have other projects we're working on.

So, we're not going to say anything like "If we don't get reviews, we'll stop." But honestly, new chapters just naturally come faster when we're motivated by feedback. That's just how it is. You might have already noticed our updates slipping back a bit because it's easy to even forget we're supposed to update this when getting silence in response.

So yeah, please review? Tell us what you like, or what you don't like, or anything to let us know people are actually reading this. Please and thank you.

* * *

 **Photocopies**

Ali poured herself a cup of tea from the lounge's tea dispenser with a sigh. Wu was standing right behind her in line.

"After your break, I have some photocopies I'd like you to attend to."

"Right…"

"It could be worse - you could be teaching Kai's history class."

After taking her tea break, sipping the tea more slowly than was probably necessary, she walked down the hall with a pile of papers tall enough to block her face. "Why are there so many?" she asked herself, still feeling a little beat down from her encounter with Net the previous day.

She wondered if she'd ever see her again…

"Need a hand with that?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that'd be-" Ali froze, almost dropping the entire pile. "…Wait…"

Ali looked around the pile of papers the best she could to find Net taking all of ten photocopies from the pile – _yeah, that's helpful, thanks_ – and giving Ali an even goofier smile than the day before. She was dressed to the nines including a lacy dress shirt with large shoulder pads that still had the tag dangling off of it and a pair of high heels in a shade of red that did _not_ complement the rest of the outfit. Despite the otherwise formal appearance, her short brown hair was completely unkempt.

" **Net?!** "

"Haaaaaaay," Net responded, still waving. Ali noticed some fresh bruises and bandages on her arm even though they hadn't actually fought during their last encounter. "How's your desk job for the enemy going?"

"They're not my enemy."

"Well, they're mine. Guess that makes us enemies, huh?" Net said this as carefree as she'd said everything else, but a rather dark look passed her features for a moment. "Speaking of how sucky the world is, how do you stand these outsider clothes? They itch like crazy." She tugged at the collar of the shirt.

"Uh… no one dresses like that. Not normally."

"Really?" She looked over herself, then back at Ali, then back at her own outfit, and shrugged. "…You know, I actually came to warn you."

"Hang on." Ali balanced her stack of photocopies in one hand and dragged Net by the wrist into her room. She sat the papers down on a desk before rummaging through her dresser and putting together an outfit. "Put these on. They're more comfortable."

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"I can't take you seriously dressed like that. Now change." She shoved the clothes into Net's hands and shoved her behind a screen in the corner.

"Fffffff _fine_." The high heels shot out from the side of the screen and almost hit the wall. "Look, when I regrouped with the others, I got quite the talking to thanks to your crap." Ali recalled the fresh injuries and guessed that a "talking to" was sugarcoating the situation. "...You sure this is normal clothing?"

"Yeah, it's the first thing I bought when I left...I didn't take into consideration it'd be a little big for me."

Net stepped out from behind the screen. Even though the outfit was too big for Ali, it looked like capris and a midriff on Net. She tried to pull the shirt over her navel, looking embarrassed. "This… is even more uncomfortable."

"Better than before...what were you saying?"

"The head covering's nice though..." Net fiddled with the black cap for a moment with intense focus before snapping back to reality. "Oh, right, uh, they're planning on sending somebody to kill you. I came to try and get you to come back before that. Actually... I'm technically not even supposed to be here..." She looked out the window, then walked over to the doorframe and looked out the door.

"I'm not going back."

Net spun back to facing Ali. "Did you even hear me?! If you don't come back, I can't be responsible for what happens to you!"

"I have friends here that will protect me from whatever comes...and I've learned some new tricks."

"You're only delaying the inevitable! You can't trust anyone out here Ali! I'm not gonna let you throw your life away!"

"I know I can trust my friends... Net...the world isn't as bad as we've been taught to think it is...give it a chance like I did and see what you're missing."

Net started to retort. Ali didn't let her.

"For one thing...my friends won't beat you for failures."

Net stepped back, a hand moving to cover one of her bandages, as if that would make Ali's point vanish. "…That's…"

"We support each other... I'm happier than I've ever been."

"But what's the point?" Net cried, but she seemed to have used up the last of her anger. Her next response was meek and she stared at the bruises on her arm instead of Ali as she spoke. "Just because there are a few good people left in the world doesn't mean…"

"It means there's still hope for humanity." Ali stepped towards her. "I like it here. I'm happy. I can go out after dark without being punished. I have a _choice._ The rules we grew up with are nonexistent."

"…"

"Hey, Ali, the kids are at recess and I was wondering if you had those pape-"

Cole paused a few steps into the room when he realized Ali wasn't alone. Net had apparently stopped keeping an eye on the hallway for ninja, because she was caught completely off guard by his appearance, tensing up and staring at him like a deer in the headlights.

"What's going on?" Cole asked.


	10. Invasion

**Invasion**

Net scrambled to think of an excuse. Her original plan was to say she was picking up a sibling from classes, but hanging out in Ali's room kind of ruined that one, and saying she was a friend of Ali's would have made her origins as obvious as telling the truth. However, just as she was about to try and explain, her eyes shot upward and she looked at the ceiling, tensing even further.

Ali and Cole glanced up with her, not seeing anything. Net's eyes continued to dart around the room… and eventually towards the window.

" **There**!"

A ninja from the clan jumped in the window just as Net threw a kunai knife in that direction. The ninja dodged and jumped straight at Net, who blocked the attack with another kunai. Of _course_ she couldn't figure out how to conceal her bo staff in that _stupid_ outfit!

"Net, move." Ali said, calmly.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Net said, slashing at the ninja who simply dodged again. _Crap, this guy's clearly ranks above me._ "I don't even know why I was dumb enough to come warn you! Now look at how much trouble I'm in!"

"Just move!"

"Fine," she stepped towards the room's far corner. "This isn't even my-"

" **Ninjaaaaago!** "

"…fight…" Net stared wide-eyed as the purple tornado collided with the intruder and shot him back out the window. Even though she'd seen Ali start the attack, she could hardly believe when the tornado disappeared and her friend was standing in the middle of where it had been.

"Like I said, new tricks."

"Who was that?" Cole asked.

"Someone sent to kill me, apparently," Ali said, shutting the window. Net, still fairly shocked, peered through the glass and caught a glimpse of the assassin retreating back towards the mountains, no doubt to tell the clan's head the details of their fight… and who all fought against him.

"…Welp, I'm screwed."

"Stay here."

"What."

"Stay."

"Ali," Cole said, "you need to talk to Sensei before you invite someone to stay here… whoever she is."

"She's my best friend," Ali responded.

"And who the heck are you?" Net asked, glaring. If this guy hadn't entered the scene, maybe that assassin would have given her enough time to talk Ali out of this insanity.

Ali gestured between them as they exchanged skeptical looks. "Cole, Net. Net, Cole. Cole is the leader of the team."

This fact placated Net to an extent. "…Hi." She turned her attention back to Ali. "You don't _need_ to talk to Sensei Poo or whatever because I _never_ said I was staying."

"Okay, then go back and get killed for betrayal."

"Yeah no, but that doesn't mean you want me here." Net pointed at Cole. "Leaderface, you don't want me here, right?"

Cole felt odd responding. While this _was_ partially his decision to make, he still wasn't entirely sure when Net had even gotten here in the first place. "…Well you haven't done anything _wrong_ … Ali caused more trouble when we ran into her than you have."

"Please don't bring that up," Ali said.

"You're not helping me, Leaderface."

"Then what do you plan on doing?"

Net looked to a random wall, falling silent but keeping her stubborn pout intact.

"Come on…" Ali begged. "What do you have to lose?"

"With _people_ involved? There's always something to lose."

Ali sighed, starting to feel like a broken record. "The world isn't perfect, I know, but it's not all bad either… give it a chance before turning it away. Who knows? You might like it."

Net's eyes moved to another wall and she huffed, crossing her arms. "I doubt your sensei is alright taking random strays to begin with."

"What's going on here?"

 _Oh_ _come on!_ Net resisted shouting as Sensei Wu just so happened to enter the room at that moment.

"Um… this is Net…" Ali said, motioning to her, "she's my best friend... at least I hope so after events over the last few days."

Net looked at Ali, surprised and a little hurt by her last comment, but didn't get a chance to respond as Sensei Wu got _right in her face_ and all but demanded eye-contact. "…Can I help you old man?"

"Net… meet Sensei Wu."

She'd figured this was him, but her glare still softened a bit at the confirmation, if only because Ali seemed to respect him. Not that she was planning to apologize or anything, but still…

"…Hmm…" Wu's expression looked troubled and… confused? Net was the one who should be confused with her personal space suddenly and inexplicably being violated. "Very interesting."

"Uh… hi?"

Wu's eyes narrowed, but not into a glare; he was analyzing her, and Ali recognized his gaze as similar to their first encounter. A moment later, he turned to Cole and spoke as if Net was no longer even there. "I was actually looking for you, Cole. Please go round up the others so we can finally shed some light on the past several months."

Cole was confused by the sudden change in subject, but nodded anyway. "Got it." He left the room to find the others.

"Uh…" Net sidestepped towards the door. "You know, maybe I should just-"

"You stay too!" Wu said, pounding his staff against the floor and causing Net to feel more fear than Wu's stature seemed qualified to strike. His order had boomed with such authority, and Net started to understand why Ali listened to him as she froze in place.

"Y-Yes sir."


	11. Scrolls

**Scrolls**

Soon after, Net found herself sitting at the table in the teacher's lounge surrounded by confused, chatting ninja and several cups of tea.

"So, what is this about?" Kai asked Sensei Wu.

Net sipped her tea, hiding her face in the cup as much as possible. She only had so much pride in her, and she'd long since used it up arguing with Ali and Cole. She felt a rush of shyness and discomfort, surrounded by people who knew each other much better than she knew most of them.

"I just got off the phone with Misako at the monastery," Wu replied, "and Misako has found some rather interesting information that clears up Ali's appearance."

"WhyamIstillhere," Net mumbled to Ali.

"Misako has a partial scroll that has held her curiosity for some time," Wu continued, "but not until I mentioned another ninja did she understand it related to all of you. There is a prophecy…"

"Again?" Jay said.

"A whatnow?" Ali asked.

"…There is a prophecy," Wu said with just enough edge to make it clear he didn't want interrupted again. It stated that a group of ninja would face off against a great evil. What that evil may be... that, unfortunately, was likely detailed in the parts of the scroll that are missing. The truth is, because one of the ninjas was described as the ninja of darkness, Misako had assumed that the team _themselves_ were the enemy."

Wu looked towards Ali, apologetic. "Finding someone who uses the element of darkness with good intent is exceedingly rare, you understand."

"So...are you saying I could possibly be this 'ninja of darkness' for some reason?" Even as she said it, she realized why the others were so cautious around her when they first met. She didn't like the sound of the title; it sounded sinister. It reminded her of where she came from.

"I know you are. I sensed it upon our first encounter - darkness is an element I am unable to mistake."

Lloyd nodded in agreement. Yeah, he couldn't mistake it either.

"The ninja of darkness," Wu said, gesturing to Ali. He continued to gesture to each ninja as he mentioned them. "The ninja of fire. The ninja of lightning. The ninja of ice. The ninja of earth. The ninja of creation…"

Net's disinterested expression quickly faltered when she realized Wu had turned and pointed at her.

"…And the ninja of ore."

* * *

A/N: Even in fan fiction, you cannot escape the awesome power of Misako's convenient scroll collection. Bwahaha.


	12. Mr and Mrs Walker

**Mr. and Mrs. Walker**

" _ **Woah woah woah.**_ You guys do _**not**_ want me in your little magical destiny club. I'm not into it at all." Net gulped the rest of her cup of tea down and started to get up from the table, shaking despite herself.

"These things don't work that way," Cole said.

"Who asked you?"

"You _are_ a part of this now," Wu said, "whether you're comfortable with it – whether anyone else is comfortable with it – this is something bigger than any of us."

"You're telling me that even though the world is going to Hell in a hand basket, I'm supposed to try and delay the inevitable because some torn up scroll and an old guy's _feelings_?" She crossed her arms.

"If you are afraid, you will never know what you are capable of," Wu responded, completely calm despite having daggers glared at him.

"Who said I was afraid?!"

"Your actions speak when your words try to protect your wounds."

Net looked down at her shaky hands briefly before trying to look in any direction unoccupied by the other people around the table. Her attempts to stiffen up only made her look even more uncomfortable.

"If it's any consolation," Kai said, "I didn't want a part in anything when I started out." He was just as irritated by the revelation of another new team member out of the blue as he had been with the first, but now that fate was clearly in play he wasn't going to waste his time trying to argue with it.

"…Yeah?" Net asked, incredulous.

"To be honest I only even became a ninja to save my sister."

"…" Net's eyes darted over to Ali for half a second. Even if she _did_ wander off and leave her alone with these dorks, she would just wind up worrying herself sick. "…Guess that's as good a reason as any."

"Would staying really be so bad, Net?" Ali asked.

"…I guess not. I mean, since I'm in trouble either way now thanks to you."

"Why are you blaming me?"

"I'm in trouble with the clan because I was protecting _you_."

"You make it sound like I made you do that. You can't just make this whole thing my fault."

"Totally can."

Net smiled, and Ali grinned when she realized her friend was half joking. The tense atmosphere that had persisted between the two of them for the past 48 hours finally dissipated, and they chatted amongst themselves until the door creaked open and Nya looked through, oddly meek. "Uh, Jay… can I talk to you for a second?"

"Huh? Sure!" Jay stood up and went to meet Nya out in the hallway.

"Who was that?" Net asked.

"Oh, that was Nya," Ali replied. "She and Jay are married."

"Ah." Net finally sat back down and glanced around at her new allies. "I… guess since we'll be working together, we should all introduce ourselves…?"

* * *

Jay sighed loudly and his shoulders loosened once the door behind Jay and Nya had closed. "Thanks for getting me out of there, Nya. So much _crazy_ stuff was being revealed. If one more twist happens anytime soon I think my brain is going to break."

"…There's… something important I think you should know," Nya said.

"If this is about there being more ninja, Sensei just told us – although it'd be nice if Miss Ninja of Ore could stop being such a grouch."

"…Not… quite, Jay. It's something else…"

Jay's brow furrowed in concern. "Something wrong Nya?"

Nya looked uneasy and maybe a bit embarrassed over what she was about to say. "Well… I uh… I'm late…"

"Wait, you dragged me out here because you were late to the meeting?"

"No Jay. I…"

* * *

"So wait," Net said, after being given a crash course on what she needed to know about the group for the time being, pointing to Lloyd, "Lord Garmadon – _the_ Lord Garmadon – is his _dad?!_ "

Lloyd's reply was cut off by a very, very, _very_ loud, falsetto screech coming from the hallway.

Before anyone could get up to investigate, Jay burst into the room right through one of the paper screens with a smile that took up most of his face.

" **I'M GONNA BE A DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"**

"… _What._ "

Jay was so euphoric he somehow missed the glare that had accompanied Kai's response. "Well, Kai, when a mommy samurai and a daddy ninja love each other very much…"

Kai's only reply was "head start…" Jay pranced out of the room to go tell every other living soul on campus with a seething Kai close behind.

Net stared at the mayhem, wondering what exactly destiny had put her in the middle of. "…Congratulations?"

"I think Kai might really kill him this time," Ali said.

"…So…" Net said when she realized nobody else was going to freak out over what had just happened, "where do I sleep?"

Net walked around the room across from Ali's, trying to think of how to decorate it in an attempt to embrace the sudden series of changes. "Hmm… it needs more pink."

"We can get some stuff for it tomorrow or something," Ali offered, but Net was in her own little world of interior design. "…Really, the stores are fun… and they've been working on a tea shop that might be opening soon."

" **WHAT THEY HAVE TEA THE OUTSIDERS HAVE TEA?"**

"Uh… yeah? We were just having some… and why wouldn't they?"

"I thought they just had it here because ninjas."

"No… everybody drinks tea."

Net's eyes sparkled at the revelation. "...Maybe this whole magical destiny ninja thing won't be so bad."


End file.
